Narrow row crop harvester with lateral conveying of cut row

ABSTRACT

A narrow row harvesting unit for harvesting a crop planted in closely spaced rows. In a cotton picker, the crop removing portion of the unit includes a tandem drum arrangement. The unit includes first and second row receiving areas spaced on the order of twelve inches (30 cm) apart and separated by a narrow stalk lifter. The crop removing portion of the row unit provides transverse movement of a first row of the crop towards a second row of the crop behind the stalk lifter. In the cotton picker unit, a forward upright drum includes spindles projecting through a grid bar arrangement intercepting the first row of crop to move the plants laterally along grid bars into the main crop removing zone which is aligned with the second row. A cutter offset just ahead of the forward drum severs the plants in the first row, and a rotating column with plant engaging projections cooperates with the drum to direct the severed plants into the standing second row.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to agricultural harvesters, and,more specifically, to a harvester for removing crop from adjacent,closely spaced rows of plants.

2) Related Art

Harvesters such as cotton pickers include row units having uprightpicker drums with spindles projecting into a row receiving area toremove cotton from a row of plants. Harvesting very narrowly spaced rowsof cotton has been a continuing source of difficulty. Cotton pickerunits such as shown in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,497 withpicker drums supported in tandem on one side only of the row, or nestedrow harvesting units as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,403 have providedrow harvesting capability for some narrow row spacings, but thereduction has not been sufficient to accommodate very narrowly spacedrows of fifteen inches or less. In some areas the rows may be spaced asclosely as twelve inches (30 cm), and harvesting with conventional rowunits can result in substantial adjacent row plant damage and cottonloss.

In copending and commonly assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 09/322,453entitled NARROW ROW COTTON HARVESTER and filed May 28, 1999, now U.SPat. No. 6,212,864, a crop severing and conveying attachment isdescribed for cutting a row of plants and moving the plants into anadjacent standing row prior to contact by a forward spindle drum. Thecut plants intertwine with the standing row so the picking drums canremove cotton from both rows of plants. Although the attachment iscapable of harvesting rows spaced apart fifteen inches or less, thecutter as shown therein is offset forwardly from the drums aconsiderable distance. The plants must be supported well to keep themupright as they move diagonally rearwardly into the adjacent standingrow, and the system requires a relatively long belt conveyer and cutterdrive system. The front of the attachment extends forwardly beyond therow unit thereby substantially increasing the operating length of theharvester.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved harvester row unit for harvesting crops planted in narrowlyspaced rows. It is a further object to provide such a unit whichovercomes most or all of the aforementioned problems.

It is a further object to provide such an improved harvester row unitfor harvesting narrowly spaced rows of plants which is simple inconstruction and which does not substantially increase the harvesterlength or weight over that of a harvester having a conventional row unitwith single row capacity. It is a further object to provide such aharvester which obviates relatively long conveyors and drives andforwardly mounted cutting devices.

It is another object to provide an improved harvester row unit capableof harvesting rows of cotton space twelve inches (30 cm) or less. It isanother object to provide such unit having a tandem spindle drumharvesting arrangement and two built-in and closely spaced row receivingareas for accommodating two adjacent rows of cotton.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an improvedcotton harvester row unit for simultaneously harvesting two closelyspaced rows of cotton wherein a forward drum provides both a transportfunction for one of the rows and a cotton removing function for both ofthe rows. It is still a further object to provide such a unit includinga crop severing device located adjacent the forward drum behind theforwardmost extremity of the unit. It is another object to provide animproved grid bar arrangement for such a unit which helps to guide thetransported row into the harvesting zone

A narrow row harvesting unit is described for harvesting a crop plantedin closely spaced rows. In the embodiment shown for a cotton picker, thecrop removing portion of the unit includes a tandem drum arrangement.The unit includes first and second row receiving areas spaced on theorder of one foot (30 cm) apart and separated by a narrow stalk lifter.

The crop removing portion of the row unit provides transverse movementof a first row of the crop towards a second row of the crop behind thestalk lifter. In the cotton picker unit, a forward upright drum includesspindles projecting through a grid bar arrangement intercepting thefirst row of crop. The plants are moved laterally along grid bars intothe main crop removing zone which is aligned with the second row. Acutter offset just ahead of the forward drum severs the plants in thefirst row, and a rotating column with plant engaging projectionscooperates with the drum to direct the severed plants into the standingsecond row.

The unit is simple and inexpensive in construction and light in weight.Crop row severing occurs close to the forward spindle drum to avoid longdrive and conveyor belt runs. The length of the unit is not increasedover that of a unit which harvests only a single row of crop. Since theforward drum acts not only to remove cotton from both rows of plants butalso cooperates with the grid bar arrangement and rotating column toaggressively move a severed row of plants in an upright position towardsthe standing row, conveyor and drive complexity and cost are reduced.The cutter and rotating column can be mounted for rotation about acommon axis to further simplify drive. The drum, grid bars and rotatingcolumn provide good support and transverse movement of the severed rowof plants with little or no crop damage, even when the rows are spacedmore widely than twelve inches (30 cm). Utilizing the forward drum formoving the severed plants also helps to pull the plants along therearwardly extending portion of the grid bars and into the standing rowfor efficient boll removal by the spindles. A conventional row unit withsingle row capacity can be easily and inexpensively modified for two rowcapacity.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon readingthe following detailed description in view of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cotton harvester with row units attachedthereto.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front perspective view of a portion of the rowunit on the harvester of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front perspective view of the first row receivingarea of the row unit of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a portion of the row unit of FIG. 2 showing therow receiving areas and crop removing zone adjacent the tandem drums.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to FIG. 1, therein is shown a cotton harvester 10including a main frame 12 supported for forward movement over a field ofplants to be harvested by forward drive wheels 14 and rear steerablewheels 16. Transversely spaced multiple row harvesting units 20 aresupported from the forward end of the frame 12 by one or moreconventional hydraulically controlled lift structures 22. The row units20 remove cotton from rows of the plants, and an air duct system 26directs the removed cotton rearwardly and upwardly into a basket 28.Although the row units 20 are shown mounted on a self-propelledharvester, is to be understood that they can also be attached to atractor in a conventional tractor mounted configuration.

The row unit 20 includes a forward frame assembly 30 supporting stalklifter structure 32 which helps to guide closely spaced, adjacent rowsof plants into the unit. A height sensing shoe assembly 40 is supportedfrom the frame assembly 30 and controls the lift control structure 22 tomaintain the unit 20 at a generally constant height above the groundduring field operations as ground and surface conditions vary.

The row unit 20 includes a framed row unit housing 50 supporting atandem drum arrangement 52 (FIG. 4) generally of the type shown anddescribed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,497. The arrangement52 includes forward and rearward spindle drums 54 and 56 supported forrotation (in the counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 4) aboutupright axes 54 a and 56 a which are generally aligned in the fore andaft direction. Spindles 60 and 62 which are rotated about their axesproject into a cotton removal or harvest zone 66 through grid bars 70and 72 to remove cotton from the cotton plants passing rearwardlythrough the zone. The cotton is then doffed from the spindles byconventional upright doffer columns (not shown) and moved rearwardly fordelivery to the basket 28 by the air system 26.

As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the stalk lifter structure 32 on the row unit 20includes narrow outer lifters 74 and 76 and a narrow central lifter 78positioned between the lifters 74 and 76. First and second closelyspaced, fore and aft extending row receiving areas 81 and 82 are definedbetween lifter pairs 74,78 and 76,78 respectively, for receiving theadjacent rows 34 and 36 of cotton plants spaced on the order of twelveinches apart. The row receiving area 82 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 isaligned with the harvest zone 66 so that the row 36 enters directly intothe zone for removal of the cotton from the plants by the spindles 60and 62. The row 34 enters the first row receiving area 81 which isaligned with the tandem drum arrangement 52 and a forward portion of thegrid bar structure.

To accommodate the first row 34 which is closely spaced to the row 36but offset laterally from the zone 66, a rotating cutter assembly 90 issupported in the row receiving area 81 near the lower extremity of thehousing 50 slightly forwardly of the spindle drum 54 to sever the firstrow of plants just above the ground. An upright plant contacting member92 rotatable in the clockwise direction (FIG. 4) cooperates withcounterclockwise rotating drum 54 to aggressively move the severedplants laterally in an upright position along the grid bars 70 into thestanding row 36 and then rearwardly with the standing row into theharvest zone 66.

The grid bars 70 are horizontal and include a forward laterallyextending section 70 a connected at an end to an upright support member98. The bars 70 are spaced vertically and extend laterally to a bendlocation at the harvest zone 66 where the curve rearwardly to portions70 b. The aft ends of the bars 70 are connected to a rear uprightsupport member 100. The spindles 60 traverse a path in which they beginto extend through the grid bars 70 adjacent the row receiving area 81(FIG. 4) to contact the plants severed from the row 34. The severedplants are moved along the front of the grid bar portions 70 a by thelateral movement of the spindles 60, aided by the counter-rotatingmember 92 which helps to move and hold the severed plants in an uprightposition as the approach the standing row of plants. The spindles 60also help to urge the severed plants rearwardly around the curvedportion of the grid bars 70 as the plants intertwine with the standingrow.

As shown, the rotating cutter assembly 90 includes a star-shaped cutterwheel 110 rotatable by a shaft 112 about an upright axis parallel to andgenerally aligned with the axes 54 a and 56 a of the drums 54 and 56(FIG. 4). A cutter plate 116 extending across the row receiving area andsupported from the lifter frame just below the cutter wheel 110cooperates with the wheel to efficiently sever the lower portion of theplants. The wheel 110 also helps to maintain the rearward motion of thelower portion of the plants over the plate 116 as the member 92 and theforward drum 54 engage the plants to move them laterally into the zone66.

The upright plant contacting member 92 includes a cylindrical portion122 extending vertically from the cutter assembly 90 forwardly adjacentthe drum 54. Preferably, the cylindrical portion 122 and the cutterwheel 110 are both connected for rotation with the shaft 112 forrotation about a common axis to simplify drive. A hydraulic motor 126 orother suitable drive, such as a gear arrangement driven directly fromthe row unit drive, is supported by the housing 50 and rotates thecutter wheel 110 and the cylindrical portion 122 about the axis of theshaft 112 to provide plant cutting and conveying functions. Paddles orextensions 132 are connected to the periphery of the cylindrical portion122 at vertically offset locations to engage the severed plants and aidin moving the plants in an upright position against the grid bars 70towards the zone 66. The moving spindles 60 projecting through the gridsections 70 a and the rotating cylindrical portion 122 and extensions132 aggressively move the severed plants laterally in an uprightposition without damaging the cotton.

To aid movement of the severed plants rearwardly with the standing rowof plants and prevent blockages that might otherwise occur because theplants are severed, an upright kicker finger column 140 is supported forrotation in the zone 66 adjacent the rear portions of the grid bars 70.The column 140 includes fingers 144 extending radially towards the bars70 to help propel plants and debris rearwardly.

Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent thatvarious modifications can be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

We claim:
 1. A cotton harvester row unit having a unit frame and adaptedfor forward movement over a field of closely spaced rows of cottonplants for harvesting cotton from rows of the plants, the row unitcomprising: a first row receiving area for receiving a first row of theadjacent rows of cotton generally along a path parallel to the forwarddirection; drum structure including an upright spindle drum located inthe path and rotatable about an upright axis; a row harvesting zoneoffset laterally from the first row receiving area; wherein the row unitincludes a second row receiving area adjacent the first row receivingarea for receiving a second row of plants adjacent the first row as thefirst row is received; wherein the upright spindle drum includesspindles moving laterally through the path towards the harvesting zone,the drum structure facilitate movement of the of the plants laterally tothe harvesting zone; wherein the second row receiving area is generallyaligned with the harvesting zone and the spindles move the plants fromthe first row into the second row and removed cotton from the plants inthe harvesting zone from the first and second rows.
 2. The rowharvesting unit as set forth in claim 1 including grid structuresupported between the first row receiving area and the spindle drum, thegrid structure extending laterally towards the row harvesting zone andguiding the first row into the harvesting zone.
 3. The row harvestingunit as set forth in claim 1 including blade structure projecting intothe path for severing the first row of cotton plants therebyfacilitating movement of the plants towards the harvesting zone.
 4. Therow harvesting unit as set forth in claim 1 including upright rotatableplant contacting structure located forwardly of the spindle drum, thespindles cooperating with the plant contacting structure for moving theplants towards the harvesting zone.
 5. The row harvesting unit as setforth in claim 4 including a blade structure located at a lower end ofthe plant contacting structure and rotatable therewith about a commonrotational axis for severing the first row of cotton plants.
 6. The rowharvesting unit as set forth in claim 5 wherein the plant contactingstructure and the spindle drum are rotatable about parallel upright axesspaced in the fore and aft direction from each other, and wherein thespindles traverse a spindle path located close to but offset slightlyrearwardly of the plant contacting structure, the severed cotton plantspassing between the plant contacting structure and the spindle drum. 7.The row harvesting unit as set forth in claim 1 including a rear spindledrum located rearwardly of the first-mentioned spindle drum and in thepath, the first and second spindle drums located on one side only of theharvesting zone and removing cotton from the severed row of cottonplants in the harvesting zone.
 8. A cotton harvester row unit having aunit frame and adapted for forward movement over a field of closelyspaced rows of cotton plants for harvesting cotton from at least one ofthe rows of the plants, the row unit comprising: a first row receivingarea for receiving a first row of the adjacent rows of cotton generallyalong a path parallel to the forward direction; drum structure includingan upright spindle drum located in the path and rotatable about anupright axis; a row harvesting zone offset laterally from the first rowreceiving area; wherein the upright spindle drum includes spindlesextending into the path and movable towards the harvesting zone, thedrum structure facilitating movement of the plants laterally to theharvesting zone; wherein the row unit includes a second row receivingarea adjacent the first row receiving area for receiving a second row ofplants adjacent the first row; and wherein the second row receiving areais generally aligned with the harvesting zone and the spindles move theplants from the first row towards the second row, the spindles alsoremoving cotton from the plants from the first and second rows in theharvesting zone.
 9. A cotton harvester row unit having a unit frame andadapted for forward movement over a field of closely spaced rows ofcotton plants for harvesting cotton from at least one of the rows of theplants, the row unit comprising: a first row receiving area forreceiving a first row of the adjacent rows of cotton generally along apath parallel to the forward direction; drum structure including anupright spindle drum located in the path and rotatable about an uprightaxis; a row harvesting zone offset laterally from the first rowreceiving area; wherein the upright spindle drum includes spindlesextending into the path and movable towards the harvesting zone, thedrum structure facilitating movement of the plants laterally to theharvesting zone; a rear spindle drum located rearwardly of thefirst-mentioned spindle drum and in the path, the first and secondspindle drums located on one side only of the harvesting zone andremoving cotton from the severed row of cotton plants in the harvestingzone; and a second row receiving area adjacent the first row receivingarea and receiving a second row of plants adjacent the first row, thespindles of the first drum moving the first row of plants into thesecond row so the spindle drums remove cotton from first and second rowsof plants in the harvesting zone.
 10. A harvester row unit adapted formovement in a forward direction through a field for removing crop fromclosely spaced row of plants, the row unit including: a first rowreceiving area for receiving a first row of plants; a second rowreceiving area for receiving a second row of plants; crop removingstructure including an upright harvesting drum for removing the cropfrom the first and second rows of plants, the crop removing structureincluding movable crop engaging members having a substantial movementtransverse to the forward direction and traversing a path whichintercepts the first row of plants, the crop engaging members extendinginto a fore and aft extending harvesting zone; and wherein the secondrow receiving area is generally aligned with the harvesting zone, andthe crop engaging members move the plants from the first row into theharvesting zone and remove crop from the first and second rows in theharvesting zone.
 11. The row unit as set forth in claim 10 furtherincluding severing structure engaging the first row of plants forwardlyadjacent the upright drum.
 12. The row unit as set forth in claim 11wherein the severing structure includes a blade rotatable about a bladeaxis forwardly of the drum axis, and further comprising a plantcontacting member rotatable in contact with the first row of plantsabout an upright axis forwardly of the drum axis.
 13. The row unit asset forth in claim 12 wherein the upright axis corresponds to the bladeaxis.
 14. The row unit as set forth in claim 10 further comprising gridstructure extending generally transversely from a location aligned withthe first row receiving area and including a rearwardly directed portionadjacent the second row, the crop engaging members comprising spindlesprojecting through the grid structure into plant contacting relationshipwith the first row.
 15. The row unit as set forth in claim 12 whereinthe severing structure is rotatable about a blade axis which isgenerally parallel to and aligned in the fore and aft direction withdrum axis.
 16. The row unit as set forth in claim 15 wherein the bladeaxis is located between the first and second row receiving areas.
 17. Acotton harvester row unit having a unit frame and adapted for forwardmovement over a field of closely spaced rows of cotton plants forharvesting cotton from at least one of the rows of the plants, the rowunit comprising: a fore and aft extending first row receiving area forreceiving a first row of the adjacent rows of cotton generally along apath parallel to the forward direction; drum structure including anupright spindle drum located in the path and rotatable about an uprightaxis; a crop removing zone offset laterally from the first row receivingarea and aligned with a second row of plants; wherein the uprightspindle drum includes spindles projecting into the path and movabletowards the crop removing zone and into the zone for removing cottonfrom the second row of plants, the drum structure facilitating movementof the first row of plants laterally towards the second row and into thecrop removing zone; and wherein the first row receiving area is alignedwith the drum structure, and wherein the drum structure includes aforward drum intercepting the first row, and further including uprightconveying structure forwardly adjacent the drum structure andcooperating with the forward drum to move the first row transverselytowards the second row.
 18. The row unit as set forth in claim 17wherein the upright axis of the spindle drum lies generally in the pathof the first row, and further including a rotating plant contactingmember rotatable about an axis parallel to and offset forwardly of theupright axis of the spindle drum, wherein the projecting spindles andthe plant contacting member cooperate to move the first row of plantslaterally therebetween.
 19. A cotton harvester row unit having a unitframe and adapted for forward movement over a field of closely spacedrows of cotton plants for harvesting cotton from at least one of therows of the plants, the row unit comprising: a fore and aft extendingrow receiving area for receiving a first row of the adjacent rows ofcotton generally along a path parallel to the forward direction; drumstructure including an upright spindle drum located in the path androtatable about an upright axis; a crop removing zone offset laterallyfrom the first row receiving area; wherein the upright spindle drumincludes spindles projecting into the path and movable towards the cropremoving zone, the drum structure facilitating movement of the plantslaterally to the crop removing zone; and including a second rowreceiving area offset laterally from the fore and aft extending rowreceiving area for receiving a second row of cotton plants next adjacentthe first row, wherein the second row receiving area is generallyaligned with the row harvesting zone so that the crop on both the firstand second rows of plants is removed in the crop receiving zone.
 20. Therow unit as set forth in claim 19 including a fore and aft extendingstalk lifter connected to the unit frame and supported between the firstand second row receiving areas, and wherein the spindle drum movesplants from the second row receiving area behind the stalk lifter to thecrop removing zone.
 21. The row unit as set forth in claim 19 whereinthe drum structure comprises tandem drum structure having a rearwardspindle drum located rearwardly of the upright spindle drum and adjacentthe second row receiving area, the tandem drum structure includingspindles projecting into the crop receiving zone from one side only ofthe zone.
 22. The row unit as set forth in claim 19 wherein the drumstructure includes grid structure extending laterally from a locationgenerally aligned with the first row receiving area in the path of thefirst row of plants, the grid structure extending rearwardly adjacentthe forward drum along one side of the crop receiving zone and guidingthe first row of plants towards the crop receiving zone.
 23. The rowunit as set forth in claim 22 further including a cutting device locatedforwardly adjacent the grid structure in the path of the first row ofplants for severing the first row of plants.
 24. A cotton harvester rowunit having a unit frame and adapted for forward movement over a fieldof cotton plants in parallel rows closely spaced a preselected distanceapart for harvesting cotton from two adjacent rows of plants, the rowunit comprising: a first fore and aft extending row receiving area forreceiving a first row of the adjacent rows of cotton; a second fore andaft extending row receiving area for receiving a second row of theadjacent rows of cotton; tandem drum structure supported by the unitframe and located adjacent the second second row receiving area, thetandem drum structure including spindles projecting into the secondsecond row receiving area from one side only of the second row receivingarea and defining a cotton removal zone; and a fore and aft extendingstalk lifter having a width substantially less than the preselecteddistance and supported from the unit frame between the first and secondrow receiving areas, the stalk lifter guiding the first and second rowsrelative to the first and second row receiving areas; and wherein thefirst row receiving area is aligned with the tandem drum structure, andwherein the tandem drum structure includes a forward drum interceptingthe first row, and further including upright conveying structureforwardly adjacent the tandem drum structure and cooperating with theforward drum to move the first row into the cotton removal zone with thesecond row so that the spindles project into the moved first row and thesecond row in the cotton removal zone.
 25. The row unit as set forth inclaim 24 including a grid bar having a transversely extending portionextending from the first row toward the second row, the forward drumincluding spindles moving the first row transversely and rearwardly,along the grid bar into the second row.
 26. The row unit as set forth inclaim 24 including a rotational member supported adjacent the tandemdrum structure for propelling plant debris rearwardly.
 27. A cottonharvester row unit having a unit frame and adapted for forward movementover a field of cotton plants in parallel rows for harvesting cottonfrom two adjacent rows of the plants spaced as closely as twelve inches(30 cm), the row unit comprising: a first fore and aft extending rowreceiving area for receiving a first row of the adjacent rows of cotton;a second fore and aft extending row receiving area for receiving asecond row of the adjacent rows of cotton; tandem drum structuresupported by the unit frame and located adjacent the second rowreceiving area, the tandem drum structure including spindles projectinginto the second row receiving area from one side only of the second rowreceiving area and defining a cotton removal zone; a fore and aftextending stalk lifter having a width substantially less than twelveinches (30 cm) supported from the unit frame between the first andsecond row receiving areas, the stalk lifter guiding the first andsecond rows relative to the first and second row receiving areas; andwherein the first row receiving area is aligned with the tandem drumstructure, and wherein the tandem drum structure includes a forward drumintercepting the first row, and further including upright conveyingstructure forwardly adjacent the tandem drum structure and cooperatingwith the forward drum to move the first row transversely towards thesecond row.
 28. The row unit as set forth in claim 27 wherein theupright conveying structure comprises a plant contacting member rotatingabout an upright conveyor axis, and further including a cutter locatedbelow the conveyor substantially rearwardly of the stalk lifter.
 29. Therow unit as set forth in claim 28 wherein the cutter and the plantcontacting member have a common rotational axis located closely adjacentthe forward drum.